The Diwali shopping frenzy may have eased, but the party is far from over for the country’s consumer electronics flock. Leading white
goods makers from Godrej, Whirlpool, Samsung to LG are seeing a near 30% growth in sales, even post-Diwali. Something that is quite unprecedented given that the November-February period is usually considered a period of lull in the CE spectrum, barring the Christmas-New Year week.

The festive season for the consumer electronics industry typically starts from Onam in September and continues till Diwali in October-November and contributes around 35-40% to overall revenues.

The companies claim the second tranche of the Sixth Pay Commission payout which happened recently along with the upcoming marriage season is spurring post-Diwali sales. Rural markets too have maintained buoyancy, courtesy higher realisation from agriculture produce, industry officials said.

“The second tranche of the pay commission payout was around Rs 17,000 crore. We feel even if 15% of it comes into the white goods market, it will generate a huge business opportunity. In fact, this money is still entering the market. Disposable incomes across rural India has gone up along with higher spends for marriage purchases,” said LG Electronics India director (sales and marketing) V. Ramachandran.

Godrej Appliances COO George Menezes said this unexpected high demand compelled the company to increase production capacity by 30%. “Ramping up of production was beyond our annual business plan. While we clocked 35% sales growth in the festive season, sales is now growing at 30% and we feel this will continue till February,” he said.

In fact, Godrej expects business of more than Rs 250 crore till the year-end. It has also come up with a promo offer for the marriage season for consumers buying a bouquet of products. “The white goods industry which was preparing itself for single-digit growth is now expected to grow at 12-15% due to this buoyancy in sales,” adds Mr Menezes.

Corroborating, Samsung India deputy MD Ravinder Zutshi said the company is continuing with its Diwali promo of zero finance schemes to sustain momentum.

“We expect a growth of 25-30% in the last quarter this year over the corresponding period last year. Our enhanced product portfolio and expanded reach is also bearing fruit,” he said.

Whirlpool India VP Shantanu Das Gupta said the sales trend is a sure shot sign of a complete normalcy in consumer sentiments. “There is a certain sense of confidence in the market. While our festive sales grew by 45%, it is now around 35-40%. This is higher than what we were seeing in the pre-Diwali period when sales were growing at merely 30%,” he said.